Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have the opportunity to provide details of the additional €195 million that will be invested in services for 2024, bringing the total investment to €2.8 billion. Since my appointment to this role, my overarching ambition has always been to provide and improve a range of disability services available to both adults and children. This year's financial allocation for disability services demonstrates the Government's strong commitment to building capacity in this area.

My priorities for 2024 will be the enhancement of person-centred supports and services, supporting the progressive roll-out of the action plan for disability services and the roadmap for children's disability services. I am very aware the implementation of these strategies cannot happen quickly enough for those awaiting access to services and their families. I am confident the allocation for 2024 will allow crucial investment in very important services. In 2024 existing level of service, ELS, funding of €131 million is being allocated to ensure the full-year costs of additional services provided this year is met and to provide for cost increases in some service areas.

On the new development measures, funding of €64 million will provide for greater investment in a range of service areas. In residential services for adults and children, €20.5 million in extra funding has been provided to deliver approximately 100 new residential places. Respite is a priority area for me and I have seen time and time again how critical it is to supporting families and individuals with a disability who are in need of receiving specialist disability services. A €10 million increase in respite services will enable us to build on existing provision and look to alternative respite options to centre-based provision.

I am also very focused on improving access to children's disability services and in that context I have allocated an additional €8.5 million to improve children's services, including the recruitment of additional therapy positions, increasing third-level places and support for specialist children's disability services. I have also provided for the continued investment in community-based services, including €18.5 million in funding for day services for school-leavers, increased funding for personal assistance services, home support and continued investment in the community neuro teams. I will be working closely with my ministerial colleagues, the HSE, voluntary providers and disabled persons' organisations to ensure this funding has a substantial impact in 2024.

I am also happy to say that I have secured an additional €9 million in once-off funding, including €5 million for alternative respite, €3.5 million for transport and €500,000 for mobility initiative trikes. Funding available in 2024 will facilitate the progressive roll out of the action plan for disability services and the progressing disability services roadmap. These strategic plans will provide a blueprint for building capacity and services over a number of years to progressively address unmet need in disability services. I hope, along with the Minister, to launch the progressing disability services roadmap before the end of the month, which will also include provisions to support the delivery of therapies in special schools as well as action intended to tackle the backlog of assessments of need which are outside their statutory timelines.

As Minister of State with responsibility for specialist disability services, I am fully committed to the continuous advancement of rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD. The allocation for 2024 will facilitate a broader programme of work in disability equality policy. A dedicated budget will support a range of measures designed to further advance and implement the UNCRPD. In particular, we will develop and implement a new ambitious national disability strategy and an autism innovation strategy. I am also committed to finding new ways of working in partnership with disabled people and disabled persons' organisations. There will be a further call for funding under the disability participation and awareness fund which will support projects across the country that will assist disabled people to participate in local and community life. This will also include ring-fenced supports for disabled persons' organisations. Funding will continue for employment supports for persons with disability under the Towards Work and Employers for Change programmes.

Budget 2024 will also provide funding for the National Disability Authority to continue its important research and advisory work. Of course, we will also facilitate the decision support services to provide all services set out in the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act, as amended.

I must also mention that we have seen the introduction of many measures across Government that will improve the lives of people with disabilities and their carers. I thank my colleagues for their strong commitment to providing mainstream supports. These include employment-related supports, a particular interest of mine. I am pleased that the Department of Social Protection is reducing the minimum weekly hours threshold for eligibility for a wage subsidy from 21 hours to 15 hours.

In the short time remaining, I want to thank the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, for his work during the budgetary negotiations. For the first time, he had to balance budgets between childcare and disability but he gave me the opportunity to have an equal slice of funding. Maybe he held back the roll out childcare supports until September to ensure that I had adequate funding to serve people with disabilities.

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